Cloaked Feelings
by MsMonochrome
Summary: When Eren was five a stranger helped him when he was lost, years later he's still searching for them, could it really be the person who assisted him years ago is Corporal Levi?


It was his favorite possession, although he didn't understand what the cloak was at the time it was given to him, just that it was very warm and his favorite color of green, that and a nice guy gave it to him without asking for a thing in return. Eren had only been five at the time, he'd gone shopping with his mother that day in Shingshana and somehow gotten separated from her on the way back home; once the brunet had realized he was all alone he'd started crying, his wails attracting attention from strangers who merely glanced at him before moving on.

One person had come over to him, a boy whose short height contrasted with the severe black undercut he had and the stern expression on his face, making it impossible to tell what age he was. He was dressed in one of those outfits a lot of people wore, with a tan jacket, light pants, knee-high boots, and all sorts of straps holding up large boxes at the boy's sides; this person was different though, he also had a dark green cape wrapped around his shoulders.

"What's the matter kid?" The boy asked, frowning slightly as he noticed Eren's face was messy with snot from his runny nose.

The five year-old wanted to protest and say that he wasn't a kid, but he couldn't stop crying long enough to answer. The boy waited patiently for Eren to stop though, crouched before him on the balls of his feet, ignoring the weird looks from passersby. Once the tears had stopped the brunet managed to say something.

"I can't find my mummy," he murmured, clasping his hands on the bottom of his jacket, his green eyes full of tears. "I dunno where I am."

Thankfully the boy didn't poke fun at how miserable he felt, if that had happened Eren certainly wouldn't have been able to stop his tears from flowing for a while; instead there was a hand ruffling his hair, and the boy lifted his lips ever so slightly into a smile.

"You're a brave kid aren't you?" He lifted his hand away from the brunet's hair, leaving it messy. "You're not scared right now, are you?"

Eren nodded, clenching his hands into fists and trying to look courageous. "Uh-uh!" He shook his head and looked up at the short boy, who gave him that small smile once more.

"Good kid, let's go look for your mom, do you remember where you last saw her?" The boy slowly rose from his crouch, stretching his legs a bit after being crouched over for so long.

Eren thought back to what he and his mummy had been doing earlier that day, they'd gone to the market, picked out some fruits and veggies, mummy had chatted with a few other ladies while he'd waited patiently, they'd stopped by the meat man to pick up meat for that night's supper, and then what? They had started to head home and he'd gotten distracted by a bird and lost sight of her.

"The meat man!" The brunet exclaimed, happy to have an idea of where to look first. "We went to the meat man's store!"

"The butcher's place?" The boy nodded as though he were thinking hard. "Not too far from here, let's go." The two of them took off, holding hands so as not to lose each other as they walked; Eren was tired though, he was only five and he'd already been walking for what felt like hours, and his pace began to slow within ten minutes.

The boy must have seen the exhausted expression on the brunet's face as well as notice the speed they were walking at decrease, because he pulled Eren over to the side of the street and crouched down in front of him again.

"Do your legs hurt?" He asked, looking concerned. Eren nodded, frowning slightly, as though feeling guilty, and then sneezed, more snot dripping out of his nose, which the child wiped on a shirt sleeve, which seemed to disgust the boy, judging by his expression. "Are you cold?" Another nod.

The short boy glanced at himself, looking for something he could give the brunet, and finally settling on his cloak, wrapping it around Eren and smiling a bit when he saw that the fabric reached just above the boy's shoes. "Feel better?"

Eren couldn't believe what had just happened, this person, already his savior in the five year-old's eyes, had just given him a cloak, it was warm and toasty, already heated up by the boy's body-heat, and it erased any hint of cold he'd been feeling before. The brunet looked up at the boy in front of him, his eyes wide as though asking if it was really okay that he could wear such a nice thing.

Rather than take notice of the adoring way the child was staring at him the boy placed a hand on his chin, clearly thinking about something else before standing up again. "How would you feel about a piggy-back ride?" He asked, giving that small smile once more.

"Is, is that okay for Eren to do?" Despite the fact he was five the brunet still had a habit of talking in third person occasionally, although his parents were working to change that.

"Your name's Eren is it?" The boy asked, receiving a nod as an answer. "Well Eren, yes it is alright with me, if you're on my shoulders it'll be easier to spot your mom right?" The child nodded eagerly, his eyes shining because of all the exciting things that were happening, the tears he'd been crying already a thing of the past.

The boy crouched down once more and Eren scrambled up onto his back, perching on top of his shoulders and resting his hands on top of the boy's black hair. "Let's go!" They both cried in unison, starting off towards the shop in the light of the setting sun.

"Mummy!" Eren cried once they approached the butcher's store, waving his hand so wildly he nearly fell off the boy's shoulders. "Mummy! I'm over here!" A brown-haired woman started rushing towards the pair and the boy lowered the brunet onto the ground and knelt down in front of him.

"You be good Eren, don't get lost again." He said, ruffling the child's brown hair once more.

"You're leaving?" Eren's green eyes started to shine with tears once more and his lips began to tremble.

"Yeah, I've got to get back, I'm not supposed to be out this late." The boy started to walk away just as the woman made her way through the crowd and embraced her son.

"Eren! Don't ever do that to me again!" She scolded the child, but Eren wasn't paying attention even a little bit.

"Mister! Your cloak!" The brunet cried out, realizing he still wore the green cape around his neck.

"Keep it!" The boy responded, raising a hand in farewell. "You seem to like it so much it would be a shame to take it back!"

Eren's eyes were full of tears now and he sobbed into his mother's chest, a mixture of sadness at the boy's sudden departure, not even leaving a name behind, and happiness that he had been given such a wondrous gift. Carla Yeager looked at her son in confusion and turned around to see who it was he'd been talking to, but the boy had vanished into the crowd, unable to receive her thanks.

* * *

Five years passed and Eren was ten, except for the foot or so he'd grown he looked relatively the same, with his messy brown hair and big blue-green eyes; he was one of the taller kids his age, his long limbs making him look gawky and weak due to how skinny they were. It didn't matter how much he ate, he was just growing too fast for the food to do anything but make him shoot up. He'd found a friend in Armin and his adopted sister Mikasa and the three of them hung out together on a daily basis after all the chores were done, Mikasa was a girl with long black hair and dark eyes who contrasted strangely with Armin's blond hair and blue eyes.

He'd learned more about the titans, he'd known about them his entire life but now he was learning just how terrifying they were, every week the Scouting Legion came back with fewer people than they'd started out with, their faces grim with the things they'd seen, and yet Eren still wanted to be part of their ranks. His main reason for going against his parent's wishes and wanting to join was due to the person who'd helped him five years ago, he'd learned that the outfit the boy had been wearing was the uniform of the military, and the cloak he'd been given bore the symbol of the Scouting Legion.

That green cloak was still his most treasured possession, it was warm even in the coldest weather, and a gorgeous green that made him think of the outside world he longed to see. Most important of the reasons he loved it was thanks to the person who'd given it to him, as Eren had grown up he'd realized that the boy who'd helped him had to be no older than a teenager, and yet he'd chosen to join the Scouting Legion, despite knowing the risks it involved. Such a person had to be admired, and so admire him Eren did, despite not having seen him for five whole years.

It was that year when Eren was ten that the colossal and armored titans broke Wall Maria, letting the titans into the city and causing thousands of casualties, including Carla Yeager, who'd been eaten by a titan right in front of her son's eyes. After the death of his mother Grisha Yeager's mind had deteriorated to the point where he forgot how old his son was some days, or even who Mikasa was. The attack on Shingshana had changed him, he'd learned just how harsh the world waiting outside the walls was and how not everyone had a happy ending like in the stories. This incident only increased his desire to join the Scouting Legion as it allowed him to pursue his dreams of revenge in addition to getting closer to whoever it was had helped him that day.

* * *

Fast forward another three years and Eren was old enough to join the military, and despite his protests that his friends shouldn't follow him they decided to join as well and were in the same trainee group as he was. It was the nights spent conversing with his fellow trainees that led him to learn about Lance Corporal Levi, a man who was known as Humanity's Strongest despite his smack stature, a man who seemed to share the same features as the boy who'd helped him all those years ago. The brunet longed to see this Levi for himself, even if it was just a passing glance so he could find out if this person and the one from his memories were one and the same.

When the long-awaited day came that he was able to glimpse a look at the Corporal he saw a man with the same black undercut and gray eyes, the same uniform, even down to the cravat tied around his neck, but the similarities ended there. This person did not smile, not even a little bit, and his eyes were cold, whoever this soldier was, it couldn't be the boy who had helped a lost kid eight years in the past. This man looked more likely to kick a child than assist him, no matter how much he might be crying. The teen was heartbroken, as it seemed like the only link to finding his savior had shattered, the other trainees told him that there was a high chance that whoever that boy had been was dead now, lost to the titans, and as time passed it seemed more likely that it could be true.

* * *

At age fifteen Eren had all but given up hope to finding that boy ever again, he'd seen Lance Corporal Levi several more times over the years he'd been in training and with each glimpse of the man, in addition the things he heard about him, it seemed impossible for this man to be even remotely nice to a person. After the incident in Trost, where the teen learned his father had experimented on him against his will he woke up in a cell across the room from where Commander Irvin and Corporal Levi stood, watching his every move. The brunet looked into the shorter man's eyes, searching for any hint of recognition in them, but finding nothing.

The next day he had the shit beat out of him by Levi, going so far as to knock a tooth out before being satisfied he'd made enough of a point to the man handing out the sentences for him not to be handed over to the Military Police. After the beating he'd been asked if he hated the man for kicking him, which was absurd, he knew that the Corporal had done what he'd done in order to protect Eren, it made sense, but it still didn't make the wounds hurt any less, despite his newfound titan healing powers that seemed to fascinate a woman named Hanji.

Once the he was alone with Levi the question burned inside him, too strong to ignore for a minute more.

"Ten years ago, did you help a little boy find his mother, and give him your cloak?" Even before the words had left his mouth he already knew how stupid he sounded, how little of a chance there was of this man being the person from his memories.

There was a long and awkward silence before the Corporal responded. "So what if I did."

"That was me!" Eren exclaimed, unable to keep his voice down. "You inspired me to join the Scouting Legion because of it!"

"Good for you kid, I'm glad I was able to do one good thing." His voice was emotionless, and he showed no trace of actual happiness upon hearing the brunet's words; the man rose to his feet, dusting off his pants before walking away, not even bothering to look over his shoulder in the teen's direction.

* * *

It was only after the disastrous incident involving the female titan that Levi showed any trace of the boy he had once been all those years ago, crying once he was behind closed doors in his room, thinking that nobody would dare disturb him. He was wrong though, and there was a soft knocking on his doors followed by a quiet voice. "Corporal?" Of course it was Eren, he was so nosy, always anxious to see if the older man was alright.

Levi didn't want to see the brunet right now, not while he was this exposed. "Go away, leave me alone." He replied, however his voice cracked upon speaking, which prompted the teen to be annoying.

"Corporal, I'm sorry, this is all my fault." Eren's voice was somber and cracked as well, there were several sniffles outside the door, leading the man to think that maybe they were both crying. The losses of Gunter, Erd, Aurou, and Petra hurt even worse than the pain in his leg did, and as much as it was unbearably painful to suffer with the fellow members of the Scouting Legion, it was so much worse to suffer alone, which was why he wiped away the tears on his cheeks with a handkerchief and answered the door.

"What is it Yeager?" He demanded, looking up into the bloodshot pair of turquoise eyes in front of him. The brunet's hands were trembling as they clutched the bottom of his shirt, the same way they had ten years ago, and it was easy to see how that child had grown up into the teen standing in front of him.

Levi had heard about the hardships Eren had gone through in his life since they'd said goodbye that time, the rescue of his adoptive sister, the death of his mother at age ten, his father's disappearance, then finding out he'd been experimented on by his crazy dad, it was a lot to take in over the course of a decade. Hell, it had to be a lot to take in finding out that your dad experimented on you and made it so you could turn into a titan, that's father of the year for you.

"I wanted to see..." the teen paused, biting his lip as though unsure of what to say, then glancing at the man's equally bloodshot eyes he stopped. "You're crying." Levi lifted a hand to his face to find that it was true, he thought he had managed to stop the flow of tears down his cheeks but apparently it wasn't possible.

"It's nothing," the man muttered, wiping his eyes once more and moving to close the door. "Leave me alone." He moved to close the door but before he could do so the teen had wrapped his arms around Levi's small body, embracing him in a warm hug.

"It can't be nothing," Eren whispered into the man's ear. "Crying is never nothing." The brunet released Levi from the hug and led him over to the bed and forced him to sit down before placing an arm around his shoulders and letting him rest his head on the teen's chest.

The short man wanted to tell Eren to leave him alone, but somehow he couldn't stand being the only one in this big room, left by himself with only his feelings of remorse, he allowed the brunet to embrace him once more and was surprised to hear himself sob into the teen's shirt.

"It's not your fault Corporal," The boy's voice was soothing. "They were just doing their jobs, it was that female titan's fault if anything, and mine as well."

Levi blinked away tears, realizing that he wasn't the only one blaming themself for what happened during that terrible mission. If anything Eren must blame himself more than the man did, Squad Levi's job had been to protect him from harm, and they'd done their job at the cost of their lives, they'd died so that he could live, and the guilt must have been unbearable.

"You aren't at fault either, they knew what might happen the whole time, it was their decision to follow orders, to protect you, don't let their deaths prevent you from moving forward with your life, they wouldn't want that." He found himself saying whatever came to mind, not knowing exactly where the thoughts came from and yet knowing they were true. "Honor their memory by working to fight titans and help humanity, that way not only their deaths, but everyone else who has perished at the titan's hands will not be in vain." Levi found himself holding Eren now, letting the boy cry into his chest as tears slid down his own face. "We have to keep moving forward, or they'll never forgive us for living when they did not."

The teen nodded into the fabric of the man's shirt, clutching at it as though for support before looking up into those gray-blue eyes that were red from crying so much. "You always know what to say," he murmured. "I wanted to find you ever since you helped me ten years ago, to thank you, to find out who you were, but I thought you and the person you'd been back then couldn't be the same person, that the boy who had led me to my mother had died. I'm glad that's not true."

Then the brunet leaned forward and pressed his lips up against Levi's and they were so warm and soft, albeit slightly chapped, that it heated up his entire body, filling it up with warmth as though he were a canteen, and making his fingertips tingle. The man lifted his hands and cradled Eren's head in them, bringing their faces closer together for several more seconds.

"I never forgot about you," he admitted when they broke apart. "That day I helped you was right after I graduated from training and chose the Scouting Legion, I hadn't fought yet, hadn't lost anything yet, it seems like an entirely different lifetime thinking back to back then. You know firsthand the devastation the titans bring with them, the lives that are lost every time we fight them, and the pain of losing so many teammates made me hurt so badly I decided to stop feeling things entirely, so I couldn't feel that pain again."

"Wha-" Eren started to speak but Levi pressed a finger to his lips and continued with his story.

"Meeting you again, finding out that I had done one good thing in my life, it made me want to feel things again, and I might as well say it now Eren, I don't want to lose the one thing I know I really, truly care for."

Eren felt honored to hear the Corporal, a person he'd admired most of his life, admit these things to him, it meant he was trusted by Levi, he was important to him. There were any number of things the brunet could have said in response, but he decided actions were better than words in this situation and kissed the man he loved once more, both of them wrapped in their matching green cloaks.

* * *

...Yeah, I wrote this in the past three days, it was inspired by a RPnmy friend had on twitter which was just too cute, so I took the idea and went with it. I don't plan on continuing this, it's meant to be a oneshot.

As always with what I write any reviews, favorites, kudos, and bookmarks are appreciated. I don't think there's any need for follows since this is a oneshot, but if you do follow I'll just be confused.

Hope you like this, I'll get back to Clockwork Wings tomorrow!


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